#barbara lenton

Cold Shoulder

~

“What have you done, Barbara?”

“Nice to see you, too,” I said.  “No Hello, no Has it been two years already?”

“I won’t hear a word of that, Barbara.  I have nothing to say until you tell me.  Why are you in prison?”

I swept my eyes around, seeking an escape from the conversation.  The room was divided in two, and I could only see the rest through the glass window at my booth, past…

Spitfire Chapter 1, Flames of Passion

The Blue Jay’s façade lit up brighter than ever before as flames spat from its windows, dancing in the night like tortured birds.  Its warmth coursed over my face, and the smoke, bitter and harsh, drove away every trace of Autumn’s brisk chill.  The street around us was deserted—no one was stupid enough hang around this neighborhood at three in the morning when they knew we were around.  But I…

Hallelujah

~

There was no going back to the way things were.  Smiles and laughs and comfy evenings, those were behind us.  I knew that for sure by the time we both got out of the hospital in Ingram.  Whatever had happened to Dick had changed him.

He wore his leg in a cast and I drove him around, always.  We found a hotel in Ingram, far from Dick’s house, and we lived there.  Dick learned how to…

Spitfire

~

I was less clear on the basement’s layout since it wasn’t on any of the plans Skylar had found.  I got the sense the basement had been dug out after the building’s completion, and I couldn’t go crazy with grenades.  Not because of support beams or load-bearing points or anything.  Dick was down here, and I was trying to save him, not kill him.

I leaped down the stairs three at a time…

Burn My Dread

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I never knew why, but when I was waiting for a phone call, I always felt a need to use the phone.  The call I was waiting for could come hours or days from now, so there was no harm in the interruption.  I took a seat on the hotel room bed and dialed.

I said, “Dad?”

“Barbara.”  Dad’s voice was rough, tired.  “Barbara, are you alright?”

Unexpected, but good so far.  I said, “I’m…

It Won’t Be Long

~

I saw myself in the news.  They reported me as a suspect in the Garrett investigation, last seen assaulting a cop and currently in hiding.  I figured the police had rounded up everyone they could find, and now they were sniffing for stragglers like.

They could come to this hospital, cuff me, and take me away any moment, and I couldn’t do a damn thing to stop them.  I couldn’t…

Straight from the Heart

~

White.  Ceiling.  Hospital.  Fuck.  I tried to sit up, and the pain was like another bullet in my gut.  My chest burned incessantly, from my collar down to my navel.  My arm was in a sling, but I couldn’t even feel it, just an arm-shaped field of agony.  The rest of me was hidden under a blanket and a hospital gown.  I pawed around with my spare hand until I found a…

Ablaze

~

I was getting sick of the body armor; it reminded me too much of Navy fatigues, though it also gave me the same sense of power.  I felt even more powerful surrounded by big guys I knew, dressed just like me, ready to kick ass together.  One last time, I told myself.  And I hoped it would be true.

Garrison’s roads were nicer than the ones in Ingram, but I could hardly appreciate them. …